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General
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Written by Daniel
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Monday, 26 November 2007 10:36 |
British Engineers Design Mother of All Satellites
Jason Mick (Blog) - November 26, 2007 9:01 AM
DailyTech
Weighing it at six metric tons, the Alphasat I-XL will be one of the largest commercial satellites in existence upon its completion. The satellite, sponsored by London based industrialist Inmarsat, will provide high-speed internet service in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.
Inmarsat maintains a high-speed global broadband network, called BGan. BGan is made up of already large I-4 satellites, but it is falling behind broadband demands and needed an even bigger satellite partner to anchor the network.
That’s where the I-XL comes roaring into the picture. It will support over five times the capability of its predecessors. The satellite will allow business people to get half-megabit internet connections on land and sea, anywhere in the world, no matter how remote. It is attracting significant support from journalists, disaster relief workers, the maritime industry, and the petroleum industry. The system uses laptop size terminals to catch the signal.... More Comment in the Forum |
